A THREAD

2003 -2006Glasgow, UKPermanent Installation

10 steel shelters – 3 m x 2 m x 2m

In 2007 Esther Shalev-Gerz completed over three years’ development of an intricate matrix of collaboration and communication with the citizens of Castlemilk, Glasgow – a neighbourhood on the periphery of the city.

A Thread resulted in ten new architectural shelters, designed with architect Ayelet Shalev that weave an imaginary line throughout the Castlemilk Park. Operating as a conduit that supported citizens not just to design the images printed on the individual canopies but to also choose the physical location of each shelter, Shalev-Gerz highlighted the extreme rarity of being allowed to make choices about how public spaces are managed and controlled. The users of each shelter become the recipient of a viewpoint selected for them by the residents.

Commissioned by curators Jason E. Bowman and Rachel Bradley on behalf of the Castlemilk Environment Trust; Shalev-Gerz advanced her long-term investigation into participation within contemporary art providing a catalyst for people to articulate complex relationships with their environment.